Taipei - Awesome Food Trip

There are plenty of delicious food in Taipei. Visit night markets and you will be amazed of the variety of food they sell. We have tried a couple of popular snacks and street food during our short stay in Taipei. With the help of some food bloggers, we were able to find them. We hope to try more when we go back to Taipei. Here are our favorites in no particular order:

1- Pan Fried Pork buns
There are many stalls around our hotel selling freshly made pork buns. Selling at NTD15 each, this soft bun has juicy meat fillings. The bun is pan fried at the bottom.

2- Flaky Scallion Pancake NTD35
This pancake is similar to roti. It is flaky and best eaten warm. Plenty of sellers in various streets.

pork bun, gyoza and flaky scallion pancake

3- Beef noodles
We got our beef noodles at Breeze food court 2F of Taipei Main Station. The beef was so tender, the soup has a bit of star anise flavor, the noodles al dente. It is a comfort food. Prices vary but this one cost NTD300

4- Pepper pork bun
This gorgeous crunchy pork bun is filled with moist filling consisted of ground pork and pepper. The popular stall selling the bun can be found right at the entrance to Raohe Night market. You will not miss it due to the long line it creates. It cost NTD50 each. 

cook tandori style

freshly made dough and filling

crunchy bun

5-Misua soup
This bowl of misua ( thin rice noodles) in flavorful soup base with chopped pork intestines is so delicious. 
It's kinda gooey and you can slurp it. It is really good. The most popular seller can be found in Emei street in Ximending . The store name is Ay-Chung Flour Rice Noodles. Soup comes in 3 sizes.

6- Taiwanese sausage
 This sausage is so meaty with smokey flavor. We got ours in Shifen but they can be found in other night markets as well.

7-pineapple cake
Taiwan's most favorite souvenir is this small pineapple cake mostly individually wrapped. This pastry is filled with candied pineapple. It is sweet and the pastry is crumbly and buttery. You can find it almost everywhere. We bought one at Shilin Night market and another one in Sunmerry bake shop in Yong Kang.

8-xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung 101
While Shanghainese in origin, it was said that Taiwanese perfected this dumpling. This bite size xiao long bao has paper thin wrappings which hold the rich hot broth and tender meatball. The soup squirts out upon biting the dumpling. There is an instruction provided by DTF on how to eat and enjoy these soupy dumplings.

9- Ice Shaving
This wonderful dessert of shaved ice can be topped with fresh fruit and flavorings. You can select from mango, strawberry,  kiwi, red beans and a lot more. The presentation is very appealing to the eyes and you will definitely enjoy this dessert. We had ours at King Mango in Yong Kang street.

10- Pork Belly bun: Lan  Jia Gua Bao
It is a steamed bun sandwich with a hearty filling of braised pork belly, pickled Chinese cabbage and powdered peanuts. The filling is chopped into small pieces and mixed together so you can have a bit of everything in every bite. It's salty, sour and sweet flavor combine. A piece cost NTD50. We got ours at Lan Jia gua Bao which is a 7 minute walk from Gongguan MRT station. If you're lost, just seek help from some students as the stall is near National Taiwan University.

11- Blow Torched beef cubes
 The steak cubes are first grilled, and then blow torched to speed up the cooking.Once cooked, it is placed in a takeaway box and you get to choose your seasoning. I chose pepper.

The steak was quite flavorful, and  cooked medium well. It cost NTD100 . You can find them in night markets.

12-Lemon Aiju jelly
 The aiyu juice is made with a type of fig and lemon juice. There's a jelly and it is served ice cold . It is refreshing. Bought one at Shilin Night Market.

13- Tea egg
A batch of tea eggs with shell still on braised in  brew of spices and tea. Tea eggs just like hard boiled eaggs are great for snack. Convenience stores are selling tea eggs. However, we got ours at Jiufen. NTD10

14-Taro and sweet potato balls
 This cold dessert is made up of taro and sweet potato balls with some shaved or crushed ice in a dessert bowl. For variation, condiments like candied red bean, tapioca pearls are added if desired. The balls are chewy and the cold syrup is refreshing. We got one in Jiufen at NTD35

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Nanya Rock Formation

Located at the northern east coast of Taiwan is Nanya. It is famous for its unique rock formations and coral shore.

 The stone patterns were said have been formed through the weathering of sandstone lining up the shore. The stripes were due to the oxidation of iron ore. One rock is shaped like an ice cream twirl.

 

There is a viewing area where visitors can enjoy the scenic shores. 
Hire a private car for a hassle free travel. Nanya rock formation can be part of your day tour.


Our day tour itinerary
yehliu-juifen-shifen-day-tour

Raohe Night Market

One of the popular night markets in Taipei is Raohe night market. It is one of the oldest night markets and is located in Songshan district. It is 600 meters long and packed with all the night food, snacks, shops and stalls.

A colorful Chinese arch marked the entrance to the night market.

One can not miss the long line for the pepper bun being sold right at the entrance. While the line is long, it is fast moving. The pepper bun is prepared right there and cooked tandori style. There is a big hot clay jar where they stick the bun and let it bake for 3-5 minutes. It has meat and veggie fillings and it is delicious. A piece cost NTD50. Eat it while it's hot to enjoy the juicy filling and crispiness.

Continue walking and more food stalls await you. Be adventurous and try some of the food.

blow torched beef  @NTD100

Aside from food, other merchandise are sold - TShirts, souvenirs etc.

One alley will take you to the nearby Rainbow bridge. It is pretty safe to roam around and just watch the colorful bridge , the river and walkway.

How to get there:
Take the Songshan-Xindian Line to Songshan exit1 . Direction to the market is very clear and one can not miss it. The market is about 20 meters away.

Other things to do when in Taiwan:
Day tour to Yehliu-Juifen-Shifen
Elephant Mountain Trail
Taipei 101- An engineering marvel

Yehliu-Juifen-Shifen Day Tour

We found an English speaking driver  recommended by one of the travel bloggers when she went on a day trip to Yehliu.  We emailed him 3 months before our trip and he was still available on our preferred date.  His tour rate is NTD3500 for the whole day and we confirmed that we're getting his services.

He picked us up at our hotel at 9am and off we go.

1st stop: Yehliu Geological Park – we stayed here more or less 2 hours. Rock formations are impressive. There's a pathway for the disabled to enjoy the scenery. Sadly, throngs of tourists from the mainland photobombed the area. 

mushroom rock formation

famous Queen's head ( right most) from afar

2nd stop  : Nanya Rock Formation – fantastic rock formation and coastline. Luckily , only a couple of tourists. Bus cant park here due to small parking space which is better. We had the area all to ourselves !! spent around 30 minutes

3rd Stop: The abandoned gold mine – we made a quick stop and did not alight from our vehicle. Took few photos from inside the car.

4th stop: Ying Yang Sea – saw a different kind of wave breaker; shaped like a big jackstone

5th stop: Golden Waterfalls – located in Jinguashi . It's an awesome falls just right across the road. The beautiful gold color is a result of the combination of rainfall in this mining area and plenty of heavy metal elements deposited in the riverbed. Happy that there are no bus loads of tourists. 

6th Stop- Japanese mining – just walked a few meters and not much to see.

7^th stop – Juifen- had our lunch here- noodles and 5 kinds of meat balls, taro balls for dessert ; very crowded. Besides the main roads, there are several small alleys and lanes that make up the area. There are a lot of stores selling food, souvenir items. There are also teashops with a view of the sea. You will never go hungry in this place. A warning though, there is a very long line for the comfort room.

Noodles, 5 kinds of meatballs, braised pork rice

taro balls ( sweet sticky rice balls with ice)

tea egg

8^th stop – Cat Village – so many cats; fat and cute; there is a train station here called- Houtong. The cats are so adorable.

a bridge was built so the cats can cross over to the other side

9^th stop – Shifen – watched people releasing  lanterns. Too crowded even if it was raining. 

Drove 40 minutes back to the city and we're at our hotel by 6pm

I am happy to have found a great tour driver. It was an awesome day.

For the name of our driver:
Andy Lin
+886975780915
email: mp5k780915@gmail.com

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